Activestills - +972 -Orthodox Jewish youth Uriel Ferera presented himself at the Israeli army’s Tel Hashomer induction base in Tel Aviv on Sunday, where he is expected to be sent to jail for refusing to serve in the military on conscientious grounds. Ferera has stated that he will refuse to take part in the occupation and that his request to instead perform civilian service was rejected by the army.-rh

Jordan Valley Solidarity - The small community of Humsa has been
subjected to numerous demolitions, evacuations and confiscation of water
tanks and animals. To make their existence on the land more viable, and
enable them to farm the small area of land they have, care for their
animals, and have water for themselves, Jordan Valley Solidarity will
help run a water pipe to their community. ak

Ma`an - An improvised cargo ship built by fishermen and international
activists, known as "The Gaza`s Ark", was hit by an explosion in Gaza
City. No injuries were reported, but the boat was extensively damaged.
The boat, named Gaza`s Ark, was set to bring Palestinian products from
Gaza to Europe in protest against Israel`s economic blockade. "This
attack comes as we were almost ready to sail," said Ehab Lotayef, a
member of the Gaza`s Ark Steering Committee. "You can sink a boat but
you can`t sink a movement. Neither this nor any other attack will stop
our efforts to challenge the blockade of Gaza until it ends." ak

Daniel Beller - +972 - Uriel Ferera, a 19-year-old from Be’er Sheva, was raised on the values of social justice and peace. “Instead of allowing me to do national service, doing my part for the country, I’m going to jail, wasting tax payer money and doing nothing.” [bz]

Patrick O. Strickland -
Electronic Intifada
"Amir Ashkar’s grandparents were driven from their home in Iqrit, a Palestinian village in the northern Galilee region of present-day Israel, in 1948. Just three years later, on Christmas day of 1951, the Israeli military rendered the refugees permanently displaced when it razed the entire village, leaving only a church and a graveyard intact.
Along with approximately a dozen other descendants of refugees from Iqrit, Ashkar, 19, set up a tent and began to rebuild his ancestral village in August 2012." ca

Itamar Rose - Y-net - The daily reality of the occupation was re-enacted
in Bat Yam, a lower middle class suburb of Tel Aviv. A realistic
checkpoint was erected, and random pedestrians were asked to take part
in a role-playing game: don a (real) IDF uniform, take up a (mock) gun
and respond to the plea of a 15-year old Gazan girl (played by a 15 year
old Arab girl from Jaffa) who asked to be allowed to cross and see for
the last time her dying grandmother, seated in a wheelchair on the
other side of the checkpoint (played by an old Israeli of Moroccan
origin). The reactions of passers by, asked to play soldier for five
minutes, were all too similar to those of actual soldiers when it is for
real. ak
checkpoinys. ak

Saed Bannoura - IMEMC - [Thursday, April 24 2014] The Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) has reported that 200 detainees, held by Israel under arbitrary Administrative Detention orders, without charges or trial, started an open-ended hunger strike. In an attempt to curb strike, the Israeli Prison Administration started isolating the hunger strikers.[bz]

Joe Catron - The Electronic Intifada - Nearly two hundred Palestinian administrative detainees, held indefinitely without charge or trial on Israeli military court orders, have announced plans to launch a mass hunger strike for their freedom this Thursday. [bz for id]

Asa Winstanley - Memo - “[Addameer, a Palestinian human rights group focusing on the issues of prisoners and prisons] said in a press release: ‘Every year Israel arrests thousands of Palestinians in an attempt to suppress any resistance to its continued occupation and colonization, the result being the imprisonment of approximately 800,000 Palestinians since 1967’" [ry]

Saeb Erekat - PNN - For Palestinians, having loved ones in prison is not the exception: it is something which has affected every Palestinian family. 800,000 Palestinians have been arrested by Israeli forces since 1967. 5224 remain incarcerated today, including administrative, sick, female and children detainees. [bz]

AIC - "`Those who would try to intimidate concerned citizens speaking out on behalf of Palestinian human rights should take note,` said CCR Senior Staff Attorney Maria LaHood. `The law and history are on the side of peaceful boycotts for social change, and today’s ruling reaffirms that this time-honored tradition is protected by the First Amendment,` she added" [ry]

Beit Zatoun - Two Liberation Seders, dedicated to a free Palestine and
the liberation of all peoples, will be held this on this year`s Passover
in Canada - one in Toronto and one in Hamilton. At Passover, Jewish
families celebrate the liberation of the ancient Hebrews from oppression
in the land of Egypt. Our Liberation Seder draws on the legacy of Rabbi
Akiva who used the Pesach Seder to plan a revolutionary struggle against
the Romans, and of the Partisans of the Warsaw Ghetto who began their
revolt on the first night of Pesach - not only because the tactical need
of the moment, but also because their understanding of the meaning of
the Passover story. [ak]

Reuters / Jerusalem Post - A small group of demonstrators held a sit-in at the main gate leading from Jerusalem to Bethlehem and chanted anti-Israel slogans before Israeli security forces approached while firing stun grenades and tear gas.
Another protest was held at the entrance of the Ofer Prison, located on the outskirts of Ramallah in Betunia.
[bz]

Ynet - The students union of King`s College London (KCL), one of the
leading academic institutes in the UK, decided to endorse the Boycott,
Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement at its Student General Meeting:
"The Union believes BDS is an effective tactic, which educates society
about these issues, economically pressures companies/institutions to
change their practices, and politically pressures the global community."
Union members resolved to carry out research into KCL`s investments,
partnerships and contracted companies "that may be implicated in
violating Palestinian human rights." and to pressrue the KCL
administration to divest from Israel and from companies that "support
the Israeli occupation and apartheid policies," either directly or
indirectly. ak

Hillel Schenker - Times of Israel - Some people are afraid of using the
word “peace”, thinking it`s passé, utopian or simply unattainable. Not
so the dedicated Israeli and Palestinian activists of "Leading Leaders
for Peace" who marched near the Tel Aviv seashore, Wearing white peace
t-shirts with the word "Peace" and an olive branch on the front. They
were joined by another group, "A Million Hands for an Agreement", who
distributed colorful hands on a stick, with the slogan “Every hand is a
vote for peace". The particiaption of dozens of West Bank Palestinians,
including families with children, was made possible through an intensive
effort to get them a permit. On an earlier occasion, the arrival of
Palestinians at a peace demonstration had been vetoed by Defence
Minister Ya`alon. ak